Hover Strike by Eclipse Author: DJ Tigresa and MC Pantera Email: djtigresa@classicgaming.com, mcpantera@classicgaming.com Here's a good old scool FAQ from the mid-90s that we fixed up for today's use. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INTRODUCTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Terrakian Pirates have taken over a distant world, killing the planet’s colonists and processing their dead bodies to extract organic compounds. Not only does this gross you out, it also angers you greatly, leading you on a mission to liberate the planet by destroying key Terrakian targets in each planetary zone, crippling their military and opening the way for a full-scale counter-attack. You’ll take on the Terrakians in the hover craft, a heavily armed hov ercraft that can handle any planetary surface, from desert sands to icy slopes and everything in between. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TIPS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To make sharp turns on the fly, press and hold the control pad in the direction you want to turn. Release theA button to slow down, then press it again to guide yourself through the turn as you slide into it.This technique requires precise timing, but it works great. Remember that you’re controlling a hovercraft; acceleration and braking, and speed and momentum, are more important than traction and terrain. Use the 5 key often while navigating through heavily occupied areas. This targeting system is help ful with identifying enemies that aren’t in visual range. By determining where the most dangerous enemies are, you can figure out strategies. For example, you probably want to attack a floater factory entrance as soon as you know one is in the area. If you’re low on shields, you should stay clear of enemies and search for power-ups. Avoid crashing into steep mountains or falling off high ledges; both of these are very damaging to your shields. During the night missions, lay down several flares at once to better see your surroundings. The shortest path—or sometimes, the only path—to mission targets usually isn’t a straight line.You often have to drive around mountains, ridges, and other obstacles to find them. Search the urban missions for hidden passages within some structures.These might be the only way to find a target. Know your enemy. If you can kill an enemy with a few photon blasts, don’t waste a volley of mis siles, which are too valuable to waste. Pay attention to the planets in the sky.They can be used for navigating around the missions, as their locations (relative to the compass) remain the same. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Basic Mission Hints ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NIGHT MISSIONS: These missions, also called “unknown” missions, severely limit your view of the landscape and enemy ships. Use your flares often and keep the target crosshairs near the bottom of the screen. This keeps the light from the flares close to you, making them more useful. If you’re not sure what’s in front of your tank, drive slowly. Slamming into the sides of mountains will quickly drain your shields. Use the lock-on systems for targeting enemies, since the lock-on can be seen even in the darkness. DESERT MISSIONS: Avoid driving into the steep cliffs that surround desert missions. Power-ups are often closely guarded by trap-door turrets, so use the lock-on system to pinpoint their locations and destroy them with mortars. Don’t hit the power-ups by mistake! Check your radar frequently to keep your bearings. WATER MISSIONS: Because of the turbulence of the water, aiming the photons can be tough, so use the lock-on system to help yourself out. Try to fire just as the lock-on is centered inside the target crosshairs. If you’re running low on energy or fuel, search the large, open seas for floaters that are transporting power-ups.You can usually find them there or around the outer borders. ICE MISSIONS: There are plenty of large hills. Don’t drive over them at high speeds; instead, drive around them to avoid shield damage.The rivers in the ice missions, are turbulent, so use the lock-on system and fire when the enemy is inside the target crosshairs. When driving in the mountain canyons, check the radar to maintain your bearing. VOLCANIC MISSIONS: There are many deep lava canyons that can eat away at the shields, so stay away from them. If you find yourself in a canyon, search for an uphill exit. If you can’t find one, or you need to exit right away, most of the canyon walls can be driven up and over if you have enough speed. Don’t try this on the gray stone mountains that form the outer borders of the missions. URBAN MISSIONS: Thsre are the most difficult missions to traverse.They’re filled with steep, impass able structures and deep pits. Slow, purposeful driving is required to survive. There are hidden pas sages chiseled into the mountains along the mission borders. Search for narrow passages to gain access to these tunnels.You’ll usually find power-ups and mission targets in these tunnels. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Level 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Unnatural Night (Night): This is a diamond-shaped mission, with one target in each of the four corners.There are plenty of patrol floaters and a few power-ups. Use your flares to negotiate around the mountains and avoid running into them. Desert Swarm (Desert): Fly southeast to your targets, engaging as few enemies as possible. Be care ful not to drive into the shuttles or you take damage. Search the outer borders for power-ups. Amphibious Strike (Water): The targets are located on metal platform bunkers, guarded by gun tur rets.There are many magnetic mines in this mis sion, and just a few scattered power-ups. Trapped Under Ice (Ice): This is a large donut-shaped zone. The floater generators take four missiles or twenty photon blasts each to destroy. Concentrate on the floater factory entrances before attacking the floaters they produce. Search the outer borders for power-ups. Vulcan Shootout (Volcanic): Easy-peasy. There are lots of enemies, but also lots of power-ups scattered along the outer borders. Industrial Assault (Urban): The target at the northernmost border is hidden in a small brick alcove with land mines surrounding it. Along the west border are hidden pathways that hold many weapon power-ups. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Level 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Armies in the Darkness (Night): There are many targets hidden at the bottom of a long, winding cav ern that runs north and south. Enter at the south and travel inside this cavern to get them, as there are many trap-door turrets above it.The other targets are near the entrances to the cavern, Use flares to help navigate through the cavern.There are several power-ups along the northernmost border, so be sure to collect these. Crossing Ridges (Desert): This area is shaped like a box, with impassable mountains in the middle. These mountain ridges cross to form a giant X. The targets are near the center of the intersecting ridges, but on different sides. To locate the tar gets, find a ridge and travel along its edge, using missiles and mortars to clear out the many tur rets. When you come to the sloping end of the ridge, you can drive the tank up the slope, and travel along the top. This path is narrow, so be careful not to fall off. The Sands of Time (Water): There are power- ups in the rock formations on the beaches. Most of the targets are scattered through the small lakes. Search each one carefully while watching out for mines on top of the water. Clear out one lake at a time before moving on to the next. Remember that your radar only shows one tar get at a time, and it’s not necessarily the target closest to you. Look for floaters carrying energy and shields around the outer borders. Snow Blind (Ice): There are many tough ene mies here, but you can drive past them. Concentrate on getting to, and destroying, the four targets. Stop only to collect the occasional power-up. By Demons, Be Conquered (Volcanic): Use mortars to destroy the tanks instead of engaging them close up, as their missiles do substan tial damage to your shields. Drive carefully, as there are also lots of land mines. Search for power-ups in the lava canyons. River of Souls (Urban): The target nearest your landing zone is hidden behind mountains along the southern border. To reach the hidden pas sage, travel east along the south border, then go south as you reach the first set of brick bunkers. Follow the passage to the west to reach the target. Go through the east passage for several power ups.This passage ends at the east border, with several targets nearby. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Level 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bum Away the Night (Night): In your landing zone are several steep ridges. Once you’re past these, the landscape becomes mostly flat and barren. Drive straight to your targets, engaging as few ene mies as possible. Behind each set of chemical towers are power-ups, so be sure to collect these. Hammered (Desert): You should have a decent supply of mortars when you begin this mission.There are no power-ups in this tiny arena, where you’re dropped right in front of a trap-door turret. Destroy it right away. One way to destroy trap-door turrets is to drive your tank into it when it’s above the ground. There are two turrets firing at you from each side of the canyon mouth; use mortars to dis able them, and continue using mortars to take out the rest. The other turrets can’t attack with any accuracy as long as you stay inside the canyon mouth. Depths of Madness (Water): Some targets are on top of the black monoliths in the oceans. Others are in the middle of maze-like mountain ridges and can be taken out with mortars. Jets patrol the skies in force, so use guided missiles to dispose of them quickly. Look for floaters carrying energy and shields around the outer borders. Frozen Outpost (Ice): The walkers take one photon blast and two missiles before they fall. Use the lock-on to visually track the head more easily. Use photons against the head, since it’s small and hard to hit with missiles. They attack relentlessly, so avoid becoming surrounded by groups of enemies when engaging a walker. Damaged and Disconnected (Volcanic): Don’t go into this mission until you have a large supply of missile weapons.There are just barely enough energy and shield power-ups to let you finish the mis sion, and they’re scattered far and wide.Avoid staying in the heavily occupied areas for any length of time.Trail along the outer borders to help keep your bearing while searching for the targets. Corridors of Dread (Urban): There are power-ups inside the hidden passage along the west border; more are scattered about the landscape. All of the targets can be easily found, but jets-a-plenty are guarding them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Level 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Dawn Patrol (Night): This mission takes place in an area shaped like a giant S. You’ll encounter tanks, trap-door turrets, and floaters. Fighting them under cover of darkness makes things more difficult. Begin the mission with a large stock of missile weapons. There are very few power-ups, so move quickly and conserve energy. Your shields will be worn down by the turrets and tanks, so use your lock-on system, to determine enemy types and keep your distance from the more dangerous ones. Valley of Death’s Shadow (Desert): When firing on turrets, sometimes only the weapon section, and not the base, is destroyed. Make sure the entire turret is destroyed, or your tracking com puter continues to register it as a target. Several groups of power-ups are closely guarded by trap-door turrets. Alien Shores (Water): There are several floater factory entrances, and power-ups are very sparse.Avoid enemies and drive quickly to the targets, which are heavily protected on small islands.There’s a large island directly in the center of the mission zone. On the west side of the island are roads that lead to a second level. On the second level is a single road in the east side. Go up this road to reach the highest level, where you find one of the targets. Land mines and magnetic mines occupy various areas, so use your lock-on system to identify enemies quickly and on the fly. Fiercer Than All (Ice): This mission takes place in an area shaped like a giant Y. From the land ing zone, you come across a fork that splits into two parallel paths that run north and south.You must travel the distance of both paths, as there are targets and power-ups at the end of each zone.Also look for power-up-laden floaters. Metal Inferno (Volcanic): Most of the targets in this mission are located near the ends of lava canyons. Power-ups can be found inside the canyons. Stay alert for the numerous floater fac tory entrances. Use your photons against the many floaters, as you can deplete your missile supply quickly against them. Canal Apocalypse (Urban): There are power-ups hidden in the passage along the west border. One of the targets is hidden in the southwest corner, behind the gray mountains.To reach the hidden passage, travel along the south border, and turn south when you reach the brick bunkers. Follow the passage to the west to reach the target. Search along the rims of the green slime pools for more power-ups. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Level 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Night of Ascension (Night): There are floaters carrying power-ups throughout the mission. Use your flares to navigate around hills and mountains. Your targets are nine floater factory entrances. There are three groups of three entrances at different ends of the zone. When you get to each one, concentrate on knocking out the entrances fast, or you’ll quickly be surrounded by floaters, which con tinuously emerge from the entrances until they’re destroyed. Desert Canyons (Desert): The layout of this mission seems complex at first, but it’s really quite sim ple.There are four parallel canyons that run north to south.The canyons are sealed at the south ends, and connected by a single canyon at the north end. This canyon runs east to west, and the northern alcoves are also sealed. The targets are located at the southernmost ends of each canyon.You’ll be dropped in the canyon farthest to the west.There are very few power-ups to be found, so use all your weapons in moderation. Harvest the Sorrow (Water): There are four large islands in this mission. The island to the northwest holds four targets. The northeast island has two targets; the southwest island, five targets; and the southeast island, two targets. On the west side of each island are a series of roads that lead to the second level, where you find the targets. Once on the second level, there are other roads leading up to the highest level. These high-level roads can be traversed to collect some power-ups. In the open sea, floaters will occasionally be found carrying more power-ups. Arctic Attack (Ice): You need a small amount of mortars to finish the mission. From your landing zone, travel south and then west to reach the first target. Continue south and east to take out two more targets. Collect the power-ups scattered about this area. The final target is on the other side of the south border, and you must lob mortars over the south wall to destroy it. Shield power-ups are limited here, so be careful not to take much damage early in the mission, or you’re going to lose several ships. Los Tiberones (Volcanic): Because of its unusual layout, this mission can cause you to become lost, and retrace your steps often. Stay aware of your position by checking your compass often. An easy way to find all the targets is follow the outer border and travel along it while trying not to stray too far away from it.The other method is to traverse the many lava canyons that separate the targets. You can drive into and out of the canyon to reach the targets quickly, but this naturally has a nega tive effect on the shields. Most of the power-ups are carried by floaters. Secret Gauntlet (Urban): One of the targets is in the southeast corner, hidden inside the mountains. If you can’t hit it with mortars, the passage can be entered from the southwest corner.There are also power-ups in the passage, but they are protected by turrets and land mines.There are many surveil lance floaters, trap-door turrets, and tanks in the mission, and you may wind up needing to use a lot of missiles to combat them, as energy power-ups are limited. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Level 6 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Final Strike (Ice): While searching for the three atmospheric laser cannons, you’re attacked by turrets, magnetic mines, and cloak ing floaters. There are only a few power-ups in this mission: some are being transported by floaters, while others are scattered around the zone.There are many paths to take, but only one leads you to the targets. To follow the correct path, take the first turn immediately to the east.There are several dead- end paths to the north that contain a few power-ups. Continue going east and follow the river that takes you northeast. You will turn northwest and quickly come to a three-way intersection.Take the river to the northeast. The river takes you around several more bends, eventually turning to the southwest. You soon come to another three-way intersection. Follow the path to the southwest. You again go to the northwest and come across the three atmos pheric laser cannons. Each cannon can with stand a whopping fifty photon blasts, but you can use ten missiles or seven mortars if you’re running low on energy. Once you destroy the third laser cannon, you win the game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- World Designers ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here are the names of all the world designers for Hover Strike, along with the missions they created. Denis Fung designed the Level 1 volcanic mission. Tal Funke-Bilu designed the Level 4 and 5 volcanic missions. Harry Kinney designed the Level 1 water mission, Level 3 desert mission, and Level 4 water mission. Lance Lewis designed the Level 1 ice, night, and bonus missions; Level 2 water, volcanic, night, and bonus missions; Level 3 water and bonus missions; Level 4 ice mission; Level 5 water and bonus mis sions; and Level 6 ice mission. Ken Saunders designed the Level 1 desert mission, Level 2 ice mission, Level 3 night mission, Level 4 desert and bonus missions, and Level 5 night mission. Joe Sousa designed the Level 3 volcanic and ice missions, Level 4 night mission, and Level 5 ice mission. Craig Suko designed the Level 2 and 5 desert missions. Chris Thompson designed all the urban missions. (He’s an urban kind of guy.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Top-Secret Tips ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALTERNATE EXTERNAL MONITOR FRAME: At the mission selection screen, press Right, C, 1,4, and 5 simultaneously. During the game, you’ll see different artwork when viewing the exter nal monitor. EXTRA LWES: At the mission selection screen, press 3, 6, 9, and # simultaneously to add one extra ship. You can use the code repeatedly to “max out” at nine lives. INVINCIBILITY: At the mission selection screen, press Down, 3,4,6, and 7.You now have unlimited missile weapons, unlimited energy, and unlimited shields. LEVEL SKIP: At the mission selection screen, press 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9 simultaneously to skip ahead to the next level. NIGHT MISSIONS: During the game, press Up,A, B, C, and 7 simultaneously.This turns the current mission into a night mission, and automatically adds flares to your alternate weapons system. ROTATE THE GLOBE: At the mission selection screen, press the 4 or 6 button to rotate the globe left or right. SECRET BONUS MISSIONS: At the mission selection screen, enter one of the following codes to play the bonus missions. There’s one bonus mission for each of the first five levels. After the code has been entered on the current level, scroll through the missions until you find the bonus selection. It’s distinctively designed with a picture of the Hover Strike development team standing in front of the landscape artwork. Level 1 Bonus: Up, 2, 3, and 6; Level 2 Bonus: Down, 2,6,7, and 8; Level 3 Bonus: Right, 3,5, and 6; Level 4 Bonus: Up, 2, 5, and 8; Level 5 Bonus: Down, 3, 4,6, and 7.